Stop the Fear

I was emailing with a friend about a change that she's discerning in her life -- she has moments where she's overwhelmed by fear. She told me I should post some of my email on the blog ... I hope it encourages anyone who may need it!

Your struggle with fear is a natural thing for many people. But, do not let your fear drive you. Fear, while good at times because it can help you identify something dangerous or risky, is not something that should make your decisions or guide your life. Fear is something that you should recognize and then deal with directly. You are in control; fear is not in control. Plus, love drives out fear. Light is more powerful than darkness. Fear makes us feel trapped and scared. But Jesus tells us that we don't need to spend time with those negative emotions because His Way defeats darkness and with Him we can overcome fear. If you are overwhelmed by fear, let Jesus drive the darkness out. I think that could happen even by you trusting Him to take care of you.

I recommend acknowledging your emotions, but if they are making you feel fear and aren't identifying anything new, you have to put them in their place and tell them to shut up:

"I hear you, fear, but I don't have time to spend with you. You only say the same things over and over again. I hear you, but I'm not going to sit here for minutes or hours letting you repeat the same few things. You have nothing new to say so we're done talking. I have stuff to do."

Acknowledge your fear and then put it in its place. We have lives in God's love that are made to overcome fear. Fear is a lie. Light and love are truth. Right now -- and always -- you're seeking truth, so let God help you cast out the fear.

Eventually, we have to take a leap of faith! Change is hard. I know you're praying for God to lead and help you in your decision, which is the best prayer. I hope you receive consolation that helps you move in a certain direction -- or even get an answer, that would be awesome! Most likely you will have to do your best to make a decision, even if you are afraid. If you leap, God is with you and just call on Him. Then go in trust; He will take care of you. Then your prayer can become, "Ok, God, I'm doing this. Please be with me and work it all out."

And lastly, God knows you, He loves you, and He delights in you! He knows this is hard for you, and He is so happy to support you and lead you through it. He wants to give you freedom from anything that is holding you back. Keep trusting in Him!

As you discern, make sure you base your decision on hope and not on fear. Fear is a lie. Fear is the opposite of love. Let love and light and hope have the power!

Love is Ready to Heal

Photo taken by my sister, Maureen

I previously wrote that I relate to Peter's (the apostle) story because I desire with all my heart to do God’s will, and yet there are times that I totally fail. I am reminded that Jesus always offers love and healing, and that despite all of my failures, He asks me to be a leader for Him. He desires the same of you.

Here's the deal: Peter was one of Jesus' best friends. At the Last Supper, Peter promised Jesus he would be there with Him through anything. Peter seriously meant it -- as Jesus was being arrested by the authorities, Peter cut off the slave's ear to defend Jesus. Then Peter followed Jesus when He was taken to be questioned by the high priest. But, when Peter is asked by a woman as to whether he knows Jesus, Peter becomes overwhelmed by fear, he freaks out and denies Jesus three times, and then he runs off, away from the scene. The next day, Jesus is put to death.

I imagine how Peter must have felt after abandoning his best friend and knowing that his friend, the Son of God, died a horrific death.

Three days later, we have the joy of the Resurrection, and Jesus begins revealing himself to the disciples. Again, I imagine how Peter must have felt to come face-to-face with the friend he abandoned. Peter's heart was probably overwhelmed with shame, regret, sorrow, and the feeling of complete failure. The pain he was carrying, the despair and disappointment he felt with himself -- all of that had been crushing him since the moment he realized he denied the Lord.

Jesus, our God, knows everything, and He knew Peter's pain. At the end of the Gospel according to John, we read that after breakfast with the disciples, Jesus pulls Simon Peter aside. The conversation went like this:

Jesus: Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?
Peter: Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.
Jesus: Feed my lambs.

Jesus: Simon, son of John, do you love me?
Peter: Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.
Jesus: Tend my sheep.

Jesus: Simon, son of John, do you love me?
Peter: Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.
Jesus: Feed my sheep.

Jesus knew Peter's pain and gave Peter healing. Where Peter had denied knowing Jesus three times, Jesus asked Peter three times, "Do you love me." Jesus lovingly offered Peter redemption, for Peter's sake. Jesus knew Peter's heart, He knew how the events would transpire, and He knew that Peter needed the healing that only comes from God.

God knows our hearts. He loves us as His children. He knows our brokenness, and He wants to heal us. Will you let Jesus into your heart so He can heal you and bind you by His love?

Reflecting on Faith, Part 2: Doubt

Clouds over Manly Beach, Sydney Australia

Faith is a mystery. There are things we cannot understand about God and faith – even if we believe, we cannot fully understand. Knowing the fullness God and His love and mercy are beyond our human comprehension and understanding.

It’s natural to sometimes find ourselves in times of doubt. I know it happens to me! What if there isn’t life after death?  There are so many people in the world -- How is God in a loving relationship with all those who know Him, and actively loving the ones who don’t?  Why would He care about some of my small, comparatively insignificant prayers and concerns, when there are people in the world crying out to him in fear and pain? It is beyond my understanding.

So when I feel darkness here are some things I do to help strengthen my faith.


When I doubt:

• I hold on to the faith of other people. For example, my Gramma's faith was so strong and she was so certain, that I choose to believe what she believed. I follow her because I believe in her, and she followed the Lord.
• I reflect on moments that I've felt God in my life. Such as appreciating the beauty and wonder in nature, the times of deep joy in my heart, and times I know God brought me to someone or something.

When things are tough:

• I make Jesus my best friend, sharing everything with Him and turning to Him first. I tell Him my thoughts, disappointments, anxieties, and concerns. I give him everything and talk to Him as my best friend, knowing that He loves me and is with me through it all.
• I remember that Jesus conquered the world, and there is nothing that He cannot help me overcome. Jesus has defeated death, fear, and sin. Love wins. There is nothing on this earth that can hold me down if I choose Jesus and follow His way. Love conquers all.

When I need encouragement:

• I talk with my family and friends who lift me up.
• I read about the lives of the saints. Every single one of them is totally different: Some of them were pious from childhood, but many of them lived lives full of selfishness and sin before conversion; they all came to God in their own ways; and each lived a call to holiness that was unique to his/her gifts. God calls us all; He calls me and desires me. There is something, or many things, that I can do to build His kingdom, and by doing so, I become more like who He created me to be.
• I remember Peter. He was Jesus’ best friend, swearing to be by Jesus’ side through it all, and yet Peter denied Jesus during Jesus’ time of need. Jesus forgave Peter and asked him to lead the Church. I am like Peter. I desire with all my heart to do God’s will, and yet there are times I totally fail. Jesus offers forgiveness and healing, and despite all of my failures, He asks me to be a leader for Him. (More on this another time.)

Faith asks us to believe what we cannot see. And while sometimes I choose to believe what I cannot see, there are things in my life that I can see. I see the love God has for me through family and friends. I see how God has worked in my life. I feel how He opens my heart with love. I see prayers answered. I see people who are kind to one another. And I believe. I believe in Jesus, who He is and what He taught. And I believe in the faith of others, in miracles, in saints, and in the lives of people who strive to do good.

Reflecting on Faith, Part 1

Recently I was invited to speak to St. Bernard's youth group about my faith. I thought I'd share some of my thoughts with you.

The core of my faith is that I believe God loves me, and so I trust in Him. No matter what happens, good or bad, I trust in God's love for me and that He is with me through everything. This type of relationship with God leads me to give Him everything. I let Him in to every part of my life, every thought, every experience. He knows it all already, but I share it with Him. Make Jesus your best friend. Tell Him everything first. Before you share it with anyone else, share it with Him.

Psalm 139: 1-5

Lord, you know me:

you know when I sit and stand;

you understand my thoughts from afar.

You sift through my travels and my rest;

with all my ways you are familiar.

Even before a word is on my tongue,

Lord, you know it all.

Behind and before you encircle me

and rest your hand upon me.

 

Along with trusting in God's love and sharing everything with Him, I desire His will for my life. What gets tricky is that I'm actually the person living my life, making decisions of what to do, and I don't know the answers or what direction to go. Therefore, I pray that His will be done, and I pray for openness to any way He is working in my life and in my heart. I pray that the Holy Spirit guides my responses, so that God's love spreads and He is glorified. 

Figuring out who we are made to be is a lot to wrestle with, but the most important things are a lot simpler that we might expect. So, let's consider some important questions.


Why did God make you and me... and everyone?

• He created us out of an abundance of His love.
• He wants to have a loving relationship with us.
• He wants us to be with Him forever.

What is our purpose?

• Our purpose is to love God.
• Our purpose is to glorify God.

How do we glorify God?

• We glorify God through prayer, the things we do and say, and love for Him and love for others.
• We glorify God when we use the gifts and talents He gave us.

He makes you unique for Himself, and the things you offer through your gifts is the special way you are called to build His kingdom. God does amazing work by putting things on your heart. He speaks to us through our gifts, talents, interests, and feelings. When we respond to Him, we follow where He’s leading, we glorify Him, and we become more like the person He made us to be.

Don't worry about all the "doing" and your life's big picture. You can glorify God right now simply through prayer. Talk with Him about everything that's on your mind. Thank Him. Ask Him to lead you. Jesus tells us to ask Him for anything. He will respond to you.

You’re just called to be the best you. That’s all God wants you to be, and He wants to take the journey with you. But it takes an effort: prayer, openness, response, and action. God has no expectations of us except that we be ourselves, and the invitation to be ourselves is a call to holiness (James Martin, SJ).

 

The Impact of One

 Two turtles. Photo taken by Maur.

It was another perfect vacation day in Hilton Head, just a few weeks ago. I biked to Mass, and while there, heard this Scripture: Jesus prayed to the Father, "...that the world may believe that you sent me."(Jn 17:21)

That the world may believe. The world! What struck me was that Jesus wanted to save the world, but he was just one person. One divine man with a ministry.

How often do we hear people say that, "I'm just one person, how can I make a difference?" or "You are just one person, how can you really make an impact?" Or sometimes we know what it's like to feel defeated and discouraged when an issue feels too big to solve.

Jesus came to save the entire world; He came for every single person ever born and still to be born. He came for you. He was one divine man with a ministry and 12 best friends who were passionate about the cause.

Jesus was preaching the Way. He had the biggest mission of all, offering God's love and forgiveness to all people so we could have eternal life in Him. He did the work that was before Him, day by day, and so did the apostles. The people they reached out to had their lives changed for the better, and those people passed that goodness on to the lives of people around them, and so on and so on until 2,000+ years later, I believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and I'm trying to spread the Good News, day by day.

So, don't be discouraged. You are one person with a purpose, and that purpose is to glorify God. Sometimes you will see the impacts, and other times the good that you do has impacts that you will never know in this lifetime. Serve people, love people. The little things you do truly matter. You are one person, and you can change the world!

Purpose and Freedom

photo taken by Maur

Yesterday I was on a walk and noticed a birds nest in a flowering little tree. I was struck by the thought of how a bird has the instinct to build a nest. There is something inside of that bird that drives it to find the twigs, bend them just so, and create an intricate, beautiful structure.

I relate to that inner force in how I feel compelled to be or do things in order to be myself. I am a loving sister and encouraging and trustworthy friend. I give praise in sunshine and warm breezes. I must write, I must run, I must draw nearer to God, and I must throw myself into the activities that interest me.

God gives each of us gifts – the talents, strengths, and abilities that make us unique – and He enables us to discover Him and His will for us through our gifts – the things that are our nature.

I think all people at some point or another want to know their purpose. Fr. James Martin, SJ (Society of Jesus, a.k.a. Jesuit), has a book called My Life with the Saints, and he writes that God awakens our vocations primarily through our desires and we are called to bring Christ into the lives of others by using our individual talents. God calls each of us to holiness, and Fr. James Martin writes that the road to holiness is in many ways the road to being oneself.

Holiness? That sounds hard. It sounds impossible for me, a person who sins and falls short constantly. What does that even mean? Being holy seems like it’s for other people; very, very good people: Saints. Men and women who give their lives to the Church. People who give up everything to follow the Lord.

… But, I desire to grow closer to God. I desire to have a heart like Jesus and to love people the way He loves. And look at the Saints! St. Paul, St. Peter, St. Augustine, etc., etc. – they were all regular people, some of whom were very sinful or fearful or ignorant. Even St. Paul writes, “Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Of these I am the foremost” (1 Timothy 1:15). So, holiness. I guess that means me.

God is good. He made me, blessed me, and called/calls me. He is always ready to pour His grace over me. By discovering what brings me joy, I can discover Him and the way I was made to bring Him glory. There is so much freedom in that. Fr. James Martin writes, “While I’m always called to grow, God asks only that I be myself, no matter what the situation,” and says that we’re meant to be ourselves, and to allow God to work in and through our own individuality, our own humanity.

Our challenge, that spans our entire lives, is to recognize how God is calling us through our gifts and talents, and to respond to those gifts in order to become more like who He made us to be.

I write this thinking about my own nature and how God calls me through my passions, as well as the joy I have and knowledge I gain by discovering and responding to Him. But the most wonderful feeling is that God loves us no matter what, and He loves us exactly as we are. There is nothing we can say or do to earn His love and mercy – He freely gives it to us.

Inspired by St. Therese of Lisieux, Fr. James Marin summarizes nicely: You don’t love the flower for what it does, but for what it is.

He Gives Himself to You

Tonight we remember Jesus’ Last Supper. In John (13:1) we read that “He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.” This makes Jesus seem so real to me. I think it is one of the greatest things that could be said about a person when reflecting on a person’s life, and this is what John wants us to know about Jesus. Jesus loved His people, all the way to the end.

Everything Jesus did, in His life and in His death, He did with love for the Father and love for each one of us. We are Jesus’ people. He carried the cross for the entire world and suffered death to conquer death and to redeem us from our sin. God loves us and wants us to be with Him in heaven forever.

Sometimes we doubt, or we feel too sinful, or we live in fear and don’t trust in the Lord, etc. Sometimes we don’t feel like we belong at Jesus’ table, that we don’t deserve to break bread with Him and accept His promises because we feel unworthy.

Well, it’s not about being worthy. God gives His grace to us not because we deserve it, but because He loves us.

Think back to the Last Supper. Jesus shared the Eucharist with all the Apostles, even though He knew that within a few hours, one would betray Him (Judas), one would deny Him three times (Peter), and all of them, except for John, would go into hiding out of fear. Additionally, within a few days, one would doubt that He was risen (Thomas). Jesus knew all of this, and yet He still chose them, loved them, served them, and shared with them. He asked them to imitate Him in service and to be leaders: “I have given you a model to follow, so that I have done for you, you should also do” (John 13:15).

Jesus offers Himself to us knowing that we are limited human beings who are all sinners. He knows that there will be times that we will fail Him. But He hopes in us and He loves us. He never wants us to be separated from Him; it is through Him that we gain eternal life. Jesus gave Himself to us because He loves us and He wants us to be with him forever.

If you were sitting at His table, He would lovingly offer Himself to you.